Get to know: The Magician

Who is The Magician? With a background shrouded in mystery, the producer goes by many alias’. In a past life, he was one half of Balearic disco duo ‘Aeroplane’ before parting ways to follow his own illusive project as ‘The Magician’.

Following a slew of catchy releases on French imprint Kitsune, the fledging producer - who revealed himself as Stephen Fasano - struck gold with his remix of Lykke Li’s ‘I Follow Rivers’ and Clean Bandit’s ‘Rather Be’ both released on Atlantic Records in 2014. Since then, Fasano has gone on to play headline shows in Hï Ibiza, Output New York and The Grand Boston to name a few.

Continuing to captivate his loyal following via ‘Magic Tapes’ regularly uploaded on Soundcloud, the selector carefully sifts through new music from emerging artists and his own fans. Concocting a blend of disco, pop, house and electro, The Magician is arguably the most unusual conjurer of sounds on the electronic circuit.

Catching up with the man himself ahead of his Egg LDN performance, Fasano shares what’s on the horizon for 2018 and an insight to his own long-running experience of playing in the White Isle over the last decade…

Your new single ‘Las Vegas’ ft. Ebenezer is proving to be popular at the moment, what’s the meaning behind the track?

The meaning is about the vibe I’m living in at the moment. I wanted to share it through music because it feels so good. Regarding the lyrics, it’s about a girl who parties like she’s in Las Vegas. It’s a love story. I didn’t ask Ebenezer if he actually lived that story or if it’s one of his dreams?

How do you go about selecting which artists you’d like to collaborate with on your tracks?

I listen to a lot of music and when I have a ‘crush’ on a singer, I ask my management to get in touch to see if the singer would be up to collaborate. Here with Ebenezer is was easy because he’s managed by the same company as me. Last summer you played for the hedonistic Glitterbox series at Hï Ibiza.

Do you think the island has moved away from the sense of hedonism it’s globally renowned for or has it re mained unchanged for you after each visit?

Since I went to Ibiza for the first time (in 2009 I think) the music hasn’t really changed - it has evolved in good and bad ways. The people have changed but not drastically. Those who always said “it was better before” are getting older. The cost of living there has improved a lot though. But like everywhere right? So perhaps It was very different in the 80’s/90’s.

What projects have you got lined up for 2018?

First of all, I’m finally going to build a new recording studio, which I’m very excited about. Talking about releases, I got 2 singles planned this spring/summer. Similar tempo to “Las Vegas”. I would love to finish the collab tracks I started in 2017 - one with Icarus and another one with Kideko and Kwali. I’m working on a new visual for the shows and would like to develop my label Potion a bit more. You might also see more and more Magic Tape lives being streamed all over the World. I do not plan to sleep in 2018.

Leave us with three tracks that fall into the ‘magical’ category and why?

Tori Lanez - I Sip

It’s very emotional. His voice is awesome.

Drake - Passionfruit

This one breaks the codes. A great mix of deep house/jazz from Detroit and R’n’B. It’s influenced my change in sound a lot.

Burial - Come Down to us

The melody is like a music box you use to get children to sleep. It doesn’t put me to sleep but gives me the chills because it’s nostalgic.